Rise of divisive politics

Over the past year, far right political parties have made major gains in divisive elections throughout the West. Although some of these movements enjoyed victories in previous elections in the 1990s and early 2000s, success of this magnitude across Europe has not occurred since before WWII.

Grown from worldwide recessions and refugee crises, nationalism and populism are newly ascendant political forces to be reckoned with. While coverage of right-populist movements has mainly focused on Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, the far right has been strengthening throughout the West, in Austria, France and Netherlands. Internationally, even a non aligned country like India saw a far right regime rise to power by popular vote. The fundamental ideas pushed by the Nationalist Far Right range from upliftment of the working class to restrictions on immigration. It would be fair to say that the Far Right also shares across borders its vocal disapproval of Islam and Muslim minorities and the growing Islamophobia in the mainstream media is responsible for swaying the less informed masses involuntarily towards Far Right Nationalism.

In the Middle Ages, Europe was divided even more than it was preceding WW1. The only time the Pope was able to unite Europe, was in mobilizing Crusades against the Muslim World. Lets hope that modernity has done us some good and blind hate of the "other" remains a Medieval phenomenon for all !